I mentioned I would post what I am getting on my Kokumin Japanese Pension

[japanville jojo]

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Although I get American Social Security which is less than one grand a month, hopefully I can get into action soon and generate some more income.
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You probably know this, but for SS there is something called the WEP -- windfall elimination provision. What this means is that if you are getting some kind of pension in addition to SS, then your SS will be reduced to 'account for' that.

I'm american, but have never really worked there, and don't even qualify for the minimum SS (40 quarters), so no direct experience with this. But I have a friend here, we used to work at the same school, who has said his SS benefit is reduced due to his pension here (tho he gets 私学共済 in addition to 国民年金, so more).

WEP is focused on workers in jobs like police/fire, and some teachers (e.g., illinois, but not indiana), and so on, that do not pay into SS. Those workers can in fact qualify for their separate pension, and then by retiring/quitting early can then work another job in order to get SS. The theory is that the WEP levels the playing field, so that those who pay SS taxes are not subsidizing those who paid comparatively little. I think expats with foreign pensions just kind of got caught in this system inadvertently.

Once upon a time, maybe the 80s and before, or even the 90s, US expats could slide under the radar on this and collect SS and a foreign pension. Those days are gone.

I haven't heard of it and to the best of my knowledge I'm not affected by it . At least not so far. For those reading this I live down in Yamaguchi which is considered to be the cheap area to live in Japan. I'm debt free. No house or car payment. But it really does take about 250000 yen to live and not just exist. Sorry to say, but in this country one most likely has to work till we drop. And working is a bit more healthier too. Hopefully soon I'll be back into the work force. If I'm lucky, I'll go the self-employed route.
Thanks for your post too.

[japanville jojo]

Hi...Thanks for sharing your form and to those who have commented. I will include mine for reference. This is what I'm getting on the national side after 23 years of university work. As you can see my Kaigo Hokken payment dropped down a bit this October as I went to a lower paid tokunin position two years ago.

By the way, about the US Social Security payment. I was quoted a very small amount for years as I do have 10 years in the system but at low wages, but when the payment came it was only 40% of the quoted amount. I challenged that and it stuck so be prepared for the WEP (Windfall Elimination P) to hit you if you are getting a pension here.

I couldn't attach a jpeg so I'm trying with Google drive.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z_GVLf ... sp=sharing

I think most people are really in the same boat as you and I with a very small Japanese National pension.

Thanks for posting. Learning a lot about my post.

[japanville jojo]

Withholding kaigo hoken premiums from the pension is certainly a way for the government to ensure they gets theirs. It also has the unfortunate side-effect of making it impossible for a spouse to claim a tax deduction for paying a dependent spouse's insurance premium.

For such things as national health insurance, the National Pension, and kaigo insurance, as long as the parties are related members of the same "household," the person who actually pays can claim the deduction (the members don't necessarily have to be living under the same roof). This can be an advantage if, for example, a dependent's income is below the taxable level, making the deduction essentially worthless to them personally (a fairly likely scenario for an above-20 student or a spouse whose sole income is the National Pension). For kaigo hoken, however, this only holds true up to the time premiums start getting withheld from the spouse's pension (from age 65), because the pension is always tied to that individual.

This Japanese Pension stuff really doesn't even pan out until we are 80 years old. For the young one coming to Japan to live like many of us here really have a rude awakening when they reach 65 years of age.

[japanville jojo]

Can some one here explain the kanji and what its means. And yes, this is my income for paying into it. And no, I wasn't spending any time in prison here either.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDlRhr ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C6a26_ ... sp=sharing

Hey guys, thanks for all the valuable comments regarding my post. Sure is a light bulb of info for us all.

[EmaxisSlim Cultist]

Hi...Thanks for sharing your form and to those who have commented. I will include mine for reference. This is what I'm getting on the national side after 23 years of university work. As you can see my Kaigo Hokken payment dropped down a bit this October as I went to a lower paid tokunin position two years ago.

By the way, about the US Social Security payment. I was quoted a very small amount for years as I do have 10 years in the system but at low wages, but when the payment came it was only 40% of the quoted amount. I challenged that and it stuck so be prepared for the WEP (Windfall Elimination P) to hit you if you are getting a pension here.

I couldn't attach a jpeg so I'm trying with Google drive.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z_GVLf ... sp=sharing

I think most people are really in the same boat as you and I with a very small Japanese National pension.

Thanks for posting. Learning a lot about my post.

As a adjunct university teacher, I expect my pension to be perhaps even less if I am unable to find a full-time job, (or simply choose to remain an adjunct for the lifestyle advantages).

However, the ability to pay 81万 a year into iDeco is arguably preferable over nenkin?

[RetireJapan]

As a adjunct university teacher, I expect my pension to be perhaps even less if I am unable to find a full-time job, (or simply choose to remain an adjunct for the lifestyle advantages).

However, the ability to pay 81万 a year into iDeco is arguably preferable over nenkin?

Maxed out 68,000 yen a month iDeCo is very nice, but I think pensions have a diversification benefit so personally I would prefer to have kosei nenkin + smaller iDeCo contribution + invest in NISA/taxable accounts.

But anyone who takes action on retirement savings/investments early enough is going to be fine, regardless of what form that takes.

It's the people who assume everything is going to be fine, or the ones who expect to be able to work forever that worry me.

[TJKansai]

I just got my pension statement today (which assumes starting at age 65). This year it shows I'll get ¥14,000 more than last year (still under¥200,000/month though).

From my hard, low-wage labor stateside I am due to get $270/month, lol.

I found a Japan Times article from Dec 2, 2015 which said 40 quarters of Social Security plus 25+ of Japanese scheme will lead to WEP applying. I am not sure I'll reach the 300 months (25yrs) though. Even if I lose 50% of US benefits, it won't mean much.

It goes on to say that you can combine the pay-in periods under totalization and that overrides the WEP penalty.

Honestly, I don't understand it, but also don't care much given the amount.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... nationals/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... on-posers/

[Zara]

Thanks for explaining about WEP. Now I understand the situation of a friend of mine, who returned to the US after 25 years of work in Japan. She also qualified for US Social Security. Everyone hears about how you can COMBINE the Japanese pension and SS. So I didn't understand why my friend said that she DID NOT GET BOTH. More people should know about this.

[japanville jojo]

I just got my pension statement today (which assumes starting at age 65). This year it shows I'll get ¥14,000 more than last year (still under¥200,000/month though).

From my hard, low-wage labor stateside I am due to get $270/month, lol.

I found a Japan Times article from Dec 2, 2015 which said 40 quarters of Social Security plus 25+ of Japanese scheme will lead to WEP applying. I am not sure I'll reach the 300 months (25yrs) though. Even if I lose 50% of US benefits, it won't mean much.

It goes on to say that you can combine the pay-in periods under totalization and that overrides the WEP penalty.

Honestly, I don't understand it, but also don't care much given the amount.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... nationals/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... on-posers/

Thank you for your post.

[japanville jojo]

Actually I'm getting full amount of Social Security along with Kokumin pension plan. Maybe they haven't caught up with me yet?